


Like Licorice

by settsu



Category: A3! (Video Game)
Genre: Fake/Pretend Relationship, Kissing, M/M, Pre-Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-18
Updated: 2018-12-18
Packaged: 2019-09-22 04:05:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,600
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17052785
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/settsu/pseuds/settsu
Summary: Chikage's obviously trying to not laugh. "You've never kissed anyone before, have you, Chigasaki?""Excuse me?" Itaru tries to sound offended. Chikage was right. "I've kissed plenty of people."





	Like Licorice

**Author's Note:**

> i can't believe this is my first fic on this account  
> kind of a precursor to this fake dating thing you'll know more about.. eventually :)  
> thanks for the title, 3oh!3

"Should we practice kissing?"

Itaru loses his combo then, his fingers freezing over the screen. He doesn't even react when his life runs out, Hagumi's disappointed voice ringing through his earbuds.

"...Chigasaki?"

"Huh?" Itaru snaps out of it then, closing his slightly agape mouth and turning to Chikage, who's raising an eyebrow at him.

"Did you hear what I said, or—"

 "Of course I heard you," Itaru scoffs nonchalantly (he was not nonchalant about this—he was very _chalant_ , actually), shoulders shrugging, "If you want to, senpai."

"I mean," Chikage starts, standing up from his chair and making his way to Itaru's place on the couch, "Might as well go all out if we wanna keep up with this fake dating thing."

"Yeah!" Itaru replies a little too quickly, pocketing his phone and turning his body to face Chikage. His hands kind of fly everywhere for a moment before quickly settling on his thigh, one placed over the other. "Uh."

Chikage's obviously trying to not laugh. "You've never kissed anyone before, have you, Chigasaki?"

"Excuse me?" Itaru tries to sound offended. Chikage was right. "I've kissed plenty of people."

"Knowing how you were in high school," Chikage sits down a _lot_ closer to Itaru than he usually does, their thighs pressing against each other comfortably, "And knowing how you are now, you've never kissed anyone. Not even that ex of yours."

"Tonooka is _not_ my ex," Itaru retorts, palms sweaty and throat suddenly a little dry, "Hmph. A little rude to talk about your _boyfriend's ex_ all of a sudden, isn't it?"

"You literally just said he wasn't your ex."

Itaru doesn't reply and rolls his eyes, mostly to distract himself from getting dizzy as Chikage leans closer, his ( _really_ warm?) body hovering over his. Oh. Oh. Oh god, it's here. What the hell was he meant to do? Uh… People usually close their eyes when they kiss, right? Itaru squeezes his eyes shut, keeping his hands on his lap because he doesn't know where to put them. He can feel his lips trembling a little. Why was he so nervous?

"Relax."

Chikage's voice is a lot closer than it was before, and Itaru feels his breath fan gently on his lips. It should've made him even more nervous, but as if Chikage said a magic word, Itaru releases a breath he didn't know he was even holding. He feels a finger tap gently on his eyelids, so he opens them.

"We don't have to do this, you know. Do you want to stop?" Chikage sounds surprisingly… soft, voice gentle and almost reassuring.

Itaru can barely hear him over the sound of his chest pounding into his ears, though. He stares into the blueness of Chikage's eyes and suddenly, his hands know where they should go. Drunk in the moment, Itaru shakes his head and grabs Chikage by the collar, pulling him down for a kiss.

He would've pulled away in fear from the surprised little noise Chikage made, but then Chikage presses so much closer that a voice in the back of Itaru's mind just goes _oh, okay, we're really doing this now._ His hands kinda feel like they have a mind of their own, or maybe he's just grappling at experiences from romance in video games, but one wraps around Chikage's neck and the other in his _annoyingly_ soft hair.

Chikage's tongue takes a swipe at Itaru's lips and again, he would've panicked about his lips being too dry but it somehow felt so good that he doesn't care and just melts into it.

Chikage, the _asshole_ , has definitely had experience in this. Who else has he kissed? From… whatever the hell it is that he does aside from acting and office work, he was probably trained to do something like this, or whatever. It annoyed Itaru a little bit. Only because it made him feel like an inexperienced loser, of course. That's it.

But then Chikage's knee is pressing into the spot on the couch between his legs and he grabs his waist, which catches Itaru so off guard that he gasps against Chikage's mouth, who only takes the opportunity to kiss him even deeper and _o-oh, okay—_

Itaru, in true Itaru fashion, just lets Chikage take the reins to wherever he wants them to go. He falls pliant into the kiss and just barely tries to keep up. He's starting to feel a little dizzy and short of breath, but it's only when Itaru whines when Chikage does _something_ with his tongue that they pull away, and Itaru can feel himself coming back down to earth.

"Are you okay?" Chikage's panting a little, and when Itaru opens his eyes, something scary and indescribable is stirring in Chikage's which makes him feel a little dizzy.

"Y-yeah." Itaru replies simply, almost as if he's in a trance.

Neither of them move for a few moments. They just stare at each other, breaths mixing into one and Chikage's glasses fogging up a little.

A million of possible outcomes run through Itaru's head in that moment. He expects Chikage to laugh at him for being inexperienced, he expects Chikage to comment on how chapped his lips probably are, he _definitely_ expects Chikage to just get up and continue doing his work like nothing happened.

He doesn't expect Chikage to lick his lips and dip back down for another kiss.

Itaru's brain sort of just short circuits and shuts down because _wait, what the fuck is going on._ But his body _definitely_ has a mind of its own because he's kissing back as if he's kissed Chikage a million times before, moving his position to accommodate him better.

They move back in for more kisses again and again even faster than they pull away, and by the sixth (sixth? he's not even counting) kiss, Chikage's made his way right on top of Itaru, hand slipping under Itaru's yellow jacket to pull him closer and press their bodies together. Their legs are fitted between each other, and it feels like Itaru will never be able to untangle his fingers from Chikage's hair.

The ninth, tenth and eleventh kisses are quick, because Chikage pulls away to catch his breath but Itaru somehow needs _more_ so he can't help but press their lips together a few times, quick but intense. Chikage gives an amused chuckle after and Itaru's stomach churns in a way he's never thought it could.

By the thirteenth, Itaru thinks he's got the whole kissing thing down. He and Chikage kiss like clockwork, lips moving together almost too naturally. Itaru thinks that Tsuzuru might be right about them being in perfect sync. Even more than in their quick banters and now their kissing abilities, because when Itaru tugs on Chikage's hair because of a dizzying move done on Chikage's part, the other growls deep in his throat and pulls his hand away from his hair to pin it against the couch. Itaru tries to not think about how well their fingers slot together.

Then someone knocks on the door during their fifteenth kiss, and Itaru's brain kickstarts in an overwhelming sense of panic. He murmurs _"_ _shit_ _"_  against Chikage's lips and pushes the other away with as much force his weak arms can handle. He doesn't even try to look at Chikage when he quickly gets into a sitting position (since when was he laying down?), just in time for Banri to peek his head through the door.

"Finished it," Banri simply says, flinging a video game case in Itaru's direction, "Too easy."

"You serious?" Itaru coughs, voice a little hoarse ( _wow, really?_ ) as he barely catches it. He doesn't even remember what game he gave Banri until he looks at the promiscuous front cover. Ah, Catherine. _That_ game. "Even on hard mode?"

"Duh. You know how smart I am."

"Get out."

Banri gives him a shit-eating grin before closing the door, and all Itaru can do is sigh and drop the game on the table, leaning back on the couch and wishing for it to swallow him up. With how 'smart' Banri claims to be, Itaru appreciates how he didn't question Chikage just laying down on the couch, completely unguarded.

Ah, right. Itaru winces internally and looks over at Chikage, who's looking back at him with an unreadable expression.

Their eyes meet, and the air between them shifts. Itaru's chest tightens because no, that's not right. Something else between them shifts, maybe _everything_ has. Itaru has a feeling he knows what it is, but the mere thought of it makes him nauseous, so he shoves it to the back of his mind. Maybe something for when he can't sleep and his brain decides to start hating him.

Chikage coughs and looks away, and the moment is over. Itaru's pointedly staring at the game case but he's looking at Chikage through his peripheral vision, watching as the other stands up and goes back to his desk.

"I think that's enough practice for now." Chikage's voice is low and _rough_ , and Itaru can only hum in agreement because of how dizzy he suddenly feels.

He licks at his numb lips, examining the game cover more closely than he should. He tries to think about how much of an ass the protagonist is, how weird this game is, _anything_ to distract himself from the one thing that's nagging at his mind. He looks back at Chikage, who's fixated on his laptop. Itaru notices the unmoving, blinking text cursor and gulps.

Something has _definitely_ shifted between them, and Itaru doesn't know if he likes it.


End file.
